Transmeta partners with AOL, Broadcom and Gateway in home Internet

American Online Inc., Broadcom Corp., Gateway Inc., and Transmeta Inc. will shortly take the wraps off of a Gateway Internet appliance that the companies said will bring broadband speed to home and office devices using existing telephone lines.

Featuring Broadcom's HPNA 2.0 technology and Transmeta's low-power, high-speed processor, the companies said the product will be the first of many geared towards bringing streaming audio and video content to and between music players, TVs, PCs, cable modems and Internet appliances.

"We intend to transform the PC from a 'computing island' to a connected multimedia appliance," said Dr. Henry T. Nicholas III, president and chief executive of Broadcom Corp. ``This isn't about simply sharing data or web access. It's about sharing music, video and telephone calls."

Details about the system and its components will be announced tomorrow, the companies said in a joint statement.